Psalms 91:9

A MESSIANIC NOTE

"For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge!

Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation.

There shall no evil befall thee,

Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.

For he will give his angels charge over thee,

To keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands,

Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder:

The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot."

Briggs stated that there is a Messianic significance in this passage;[8] and certainly Satan himself thought it applied to Christ, for he quoted Psalms 91:11-12 to Jesus Christ in the temptation recorded in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:10-11.

Christ, of course refused the Devil's suggestion that he cast himself from the pinnacle of the temple, noting that such an action would tempt God. For our full comments on that episode, see in my New Testament series of commentaries under those references.

"There shall no evil befall thee" (Psalms 91:10). Promises just as glorious as these are provided for the Christians in the New Testament, as for example, in Romans 8:35-39; but as Kidner cautioned, "The assurance here is that nothing can touch God's servant except by God's permission, and that no rebel (Psalms 91:8) can escape God's punishment."[9] Kidner also quoted Luke 21:19 in this connection, indicating that there actually is no exemption whatever to Christians regarding the common dangers and disasters of all men, the great difference for the child of God being that, "The Lord will preserve him through every experience, even death itself."

"He will give his angels charge over thee" (Psalms 91:11). This promise has its New Testament echo in Hebrews 1:13-14, where it is stated that "all," the entire host of the heavenly angels, are charged with the duty of ministering unto them that shall be the heirs of salvation.

The following things which angels do for the redeemed are mentioned in the Bible: (1) They bear away the souls of the righteous in death (Luke 16:22). (2) They oppose purposes and designs of Satan, not in their own names, but in the name of the Lord (Jude 1:1:6). (3) They execute God's judgments upon the incorrigibly wicked (2 Kings 19:35; Acts 12:23). (4) They exert influence upon rulers and governments (Daniel 10:20. (5) They aid providentially in bringing the unsaved to hear the saving gospel of Christ (Acts 10:3). (6) They exercise watchful care over little children (Matthew 18:10). (7) They maintain perpetually the availability of the Word of God for the human race. The Rainbow Angel stands upon the land and the sea, having in his hand "a little book, OPEN." That little BOOK is the New Testament (Revelation 10).

"Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder" (Psalms 91:13). Briggs translated this line, "Upon reptile and cobra thou wilt tread"[10] but the new versions do not honor that rendition. A similar blessing is seen in the life of Paul who shook the poisonous viper off into the fire (Acts 28:3-6).